


Kiss me, I'm Irish

by gonattsaga



Category: Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live RPF
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Because of Reasons, Bill Hader is a self-proclaimed nervous wreck, Bill is having a sexual life crisis, Canon Compliant, Coming Out, Feelings, First Kiss, Fluff, Forbidden, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Lamaze breathing is almost foreplay in the right context, M/M, Secret Crush, Seth Meyers is adorable, Seth and John ships Seth/Stefon big time, Starbucks, Stefon, and, and possibly a heart attack, but it all works out in the end, forbidden feelings, jk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 13:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9659411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gonattsaga/pseuds/gonattsaga
Summary: It’s like a sucker-punch to the chest when it happens and it’s the weirdest thing because he never saw it coming at all…





	

**Author's Note:**

> First SNL fic!

 

It’s like a sucker-punch to the chest when it happens and it’s the weirdest thing because he never saw it coming at all… Maybe because it’s his fifth season on SNL — that’s five fucking _years_ — and it never even occurred to him that his dimpled-cheeked co-star, the straight man to his Stefon and comedy writing genius to his funny noise-making jukebox of a mind, was anything but a great guy, a cool co-worker, a _good pal_ ; he never even thought of him as a sexual being, not even when he donned Stefon’s skin and read innuendo off of cue cards and suggestively dragged his gaze down the other man’s body, did it ever strike _him_ , Bill Hader, that Seth Meyers is a sexy man — person — a potential object of attraction and affection, _ever_!

 

Until it did. 

 

And it’s the weirdest thing, because what triggers the epiphany is so innocent really, by Stefon’s standards _and_ by SNLs standards — he’s french-kissed half the cast in the Kissing Family skits already, after all — and shouldn’t be a big deal at all, except it suddenly is… 

 

They’re halfway through the live performance and John has already managed to sneak a new joke onto his cue card and got him to break, so a part of him has already relaxed, thinking foolishly that he’s out of the woods now for the rest of the sketch, and that’s when it happens… Seth mentions his girlfriend and Bill boos him just like he did in Dress, except this time inspiration grabs him and he launches himself at the other man and plants a kiss on the man’s cheek… His lips skirt the edge of a dimple briefly before he pulls away again, playing up his own shock and turning it into comedy gold, the audience laughter and whoops washing over them like a tidal wave, and Seth’s voice stutters on his line as a small chuckle escapes him before he collects himself again.

 

But that’s not what does Bill’s head in… It’s the blush on the other man’s face. The unmistakable, rosy tint to those dimpled — _soft_ , his brain supplies because it _knows_ now — cheeks and Bill feels his own face heat up immediately…

 

John is ecstatic afterwards, babbling about homoerotic subtext turning context and ground-breaking television, and Bill feels like he’s floating out of his own body, like he’s having an anxiety attack except it’s less of an attack and more like a sensation sneaking up on him in slow motion. Seth joins them and nods eagerly as John keeps babbling, his grin never wavering, but his eyes fitting away from Bill’s every time he looks over like he’s suddenly shy, which is just ridiculous, Bill tells himself. 

 

But that’s when it starts. That’s the catalyst of all the stolen glances that sets his heart racing and stomach fluttering, like he’s twelve years old again and harbouring a secret crush on a classmate, except it’s not a classmate, it’s his friend and co-worker, his _male_ friend and co-worker, and it doesn’t make any sense at all… 

 

If Seth notices, he doesn’t let on but in all likelihood he’s blissfully unaware of Bill’s sexual crisis and that’s probably just as well, Bill figures. It’s extremely inconvenient as it is, but it would be _catastrophic_ if it the other man noticed, if it affected their relationship and the work, he tells himself as he’s caught staring for the _second time_ this Wednesday and quickly ducks his head to hide the blush breaking out on his face. He silently cursing the butterflies in his stomach for distracting him from his cue in the next sketch, then quickly starts his new mantra: _It could be worse,_ _it could be worse, it could be worse_ … 

 

His spider senses are tingling like an itch, but he refuses to look up… He’s not sure what would be worse: having his suspicions confirmed and suddenly find himself staring into beautiful, blue eyes or have them dispelled. Just the idea of Seth looking at him is enough of a thrill. And as long as he doesn’t look up, he can still feel that thrill, he has it, and it’s still safe, he’s safe… It’s not real, it’s just a fantasy…

 

Of course, if he allows himself to think about it, really think about it, rationally, then the idea of Seth reciprocating his feelings is utterly bizarre. He’s not deluded enough to think that the other man would ever have any sort of romantic or sexual feelings towards him — which is just as well, of course — it’s not an actual possibility in the _real world,_ which makes it a little more okay, Bill reasons with himself, it makes it just slightly more okay that he’s having these feelings in the first place, despite being happily married to a wonderful woman, it’s okay to be stealing glances of his colleague and getting all fluttery around him, because it’s not really _real_ … 

 

Until it is.

 

He and Fred is bringing the Gay Couple from New Jersey back to Weekend Update and it’s Seth’s suggestion, he’s even written up the skit for them and everything — ”I love those two, they’re one of my favourites”, he adds in a general undertone and gets a couple of lazy head-nods back from a few of the other writers and Fred makes a quip that makes the room at large chuckle tiredly, including Seth — and then suddenly Bill finds himself in the crossfire of those brilliant, all-consuming, sapphire eyes and his heart stutters in his chest and he wrenches his gaze away, only to realise that _all_ eyes are on him… 

 

Too late he realises that he’s the only person in the room who hasn’t reacted at all to Seth’s suggestion and now _it’s weird…_

 

He quickly gives his head a little shake and reaches for his coffee cup (even though he knows it’s empty since about two hours ago) and a few people snort and chortle, Fred makes a comment about old age and energy levels, and Bill gives him a grunt of agreement just to move things along so that his face can get a chance to cool off again…

 

He picks up the sides for the sketch as someone (Seth, it _must have been_ Seth, his feverish mind gushes, but he ignores it) slides it across the table for him… He adjusts his voice, finding the New Jersey accent, but doesn’t bother with the body language, just keeps curled in on himself as he reads the lines from the paper (Seth wrote this, he wrote these words for me to say — Shhh — But he — No! Hush! Focus!) And there’s a weak murmur of amusement around the table, a couple of the writers exclaim a pointed ”Hah!” after one of his puns, and the sketch is quickly put on the Yes pile, and they move on to the next one.

 

So far, nothing out of the ordinary… But when he and Fred roll into place next to Seth behind the Update desk, slouching and twitching in their chairs, making eyes at each other, something _quite_ extraordinary _does_ happens… Bill’s gaze accidentally flickers past Fred’s face and finds Seth’s instead, only for about half a second, but that’s all it takes… Something is different in the way his eyes glitter — and Bill should know, he’s memorised the exact nuance of them enough by now — and even though he can’t quite put his finger on how it’s different, he definitely knows something is, and it’s not until afterwards that it clicks. When he’s making his way out of the dressing room and Seth is suddenly there, next to him, like he’s materialised from his obsessive thoughts like some mirage… 

 

”You guys have great chemistry”, he says, big dimpled smile stretching his face but for some reason not really reaching his eyes at all. 

 

And realisation hits Bill like a shovel in the face — _Seth is jealous!_ — and he can only blink stupidly and stammer something about Yeah, thanks man, thanks, that was great, ehm, great writing, buddy, and the longer he stammers, the icier Seth’s eyes feels, and all the while, that fucking smile never waver once, and Bill feels like he must be going crazy, this whole crush thing has muddled his mind and now he can’t even tell reality apart from his own immature fantasies… By the time he’s made his way home, he’s convinced himself that the whole thing was just a figment of his own imagination. _Seth is not jealous of Fred. Why the Hell would he be jealous of Fred? That’s insanity!_

 

And yet, the next day, when they’re back behind the Update desk and Tony Dinato’s cheap jewellery is clinking around his limbs, Bill can’t help but remember, can’t stop himself from indulging in a small little… experiment… 

 

Fred’s eyes a twinkling with repressed amusement as his fictional life partner pins him with a heated look and purses his lips suggestively, but he quickly gets with the program and plays along, much to the audience’s amusement. Bill’s heart is hammering wildly in his chest, as he lets his eyelids droop and drags smouldering eyes down his scene partner’s body, inching a little closer to him as if physically drawn to him and outright ignoring Seth’s attempts at getting his attention, seemingly lost in his own desire… 

 

”Oooaaahhh…” Fred rumbles and in his peripheral Bill catches him spread his legs in invitation below the desk and feels his cheeks heat, but he refuses to back down, knocking his own knee against the inside of the man’s thigh —

 

”GUYS!” Seth more or less shouts and a roar of laughter erupts from the audience. 

 

Bill drags his eyes away from Fred with feigned reluctance and shoots Seth a look of pure irritation that only makes his chest clench a little, especially when the man’s face looks like a kicked fucking puppy for a whole second before he throws himself back into character and laughs along with the audience. 

 

 _Gotcha,_ Bill thinks as a weird mix of hysteria and numbness grips him. 

 

Throughout the rest of the skit, Seth’s smile seems stiff around the edges and Bill’s stomach churns with what he’s _sure_ is the feeling of victory, until he makes a bee-line for Seth at the After party and the man avoids his eyes altogether and makes a lame excuse and _walks away_ … The ice bucket challenge would be a pale comparison to this sensation, Bill thinks numbly and then makes his own excuses to whomever happens to be standing next to him and slips out of the bar and hails a cab. 

 

He doesn’t realise he’s hyperventilating until the cabbie tilts the rearview mirror and asks him if he’s alright. Bill blinks in surprise, horrified to feel the warmth of a couple of fat tears break loose and trickle down his cheeks and quickly bats them away. 

 

Things remain awkward between him and Seth, or so Bill feels, for the remaining couple of weeks of the season and Bill subsequently spends the whole break in a perpetual state of anxiety that finally culminates in a panic attack on the morning of the first Monday of season thirty-seven. He hurriedly shuts himself up in his office and sits down on the floor, pressing his knees to his chest as if the external pressure might distract from the internal one, and clutches his empty Starbucks cup in front of him until the plastic lid flies off and tries to do his Lamaze breathing exercises despite barely getting any air into his lungs at all…

 

Then suddenly there’s a knock on the door and then Seth is _right there_ , eyes huge and earnest, _Oh my God Bill are you all right?_ and he’s crouching down in front of Bill, hands on top of Bill’s hands to steady himself or to steady Bill’s trembling arms, Bill’s not sure at this point, and he tries to pull himself together, tries to be cool, tries to reassure the head writer that he is absolutely _fine_ , but the more he nods, the more worried Seth seems to get — ”Should I call your wife?” — _Oh god no_ , Bill thinks desperately and almost faints as his Lamaze breathing turns into full-blown hyperventilation.

 

”All right, okay, all right”, Seth says, all business, and pries the coffee out of Bill’s cramping fingers before gathering him into his arms like it’s no big deal at all, like they hug all the time. ”Okay, breathe, just breathe, buddy… Everything’s fine… Just breathe for me… That’s it… Thaaaat’s it…”

 

And Bill would feel embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated, if he wasn’t so relieved, because the harder Seth’s hand rub his back, the easier it becomes to breathe and his heart stops trying to jump out of his chest and the room opens up around them again. 

 

”Th-thank you”, he gasps weakly as soon as he’s able. 

 

”No problem, buddy”, Seth murmurs, his hand stilling between Bill’s shoulder blades although he makes no move to push him away. ”Feeling better?”

 

”Y-Yeah… Yeah, thanks… I don’t know what happened”, he lies and awkwardly contorts his arm to clap any part of Seth he can reach. 

 

Seth claps him on the back, twice, and finally lets go of him. 

 

Bill’s chest feels tight again, but this time he lets the anxiety simmer away in the background and does his best to ignore it. He gives Seth a pinched smile and gets a full-dimpled million-watt one back. 

 

”It’s great to see you again, buddy”, Seth says and Bill actually believes him. 

 

And not only that, but there is nothing, _not a hint,_ of any weird or tense emotion in those impossibly blue eyes now at all, and it throws Bill for a whole other loop — _wait, what, did I - could I have - no - was it all really in my head after all?_ — and he almost feels like crying, because _what the fuck man!_

 

He’s still reeling later that afternoon when John is staring expectantly at him from across the table, pen perched and ready above his notebook, and Bill half-heartedly makes a random noise, and John’s eyes narrow immediately, the cog wheels in his gigantic brain turning swiftly and he nods eagerly, alright, alright, we can work with that, and then he’s off and Bill leaves him to it, taking the opportunity to cradle his head in his hands and have a silent freak-out… 

 

He’s vaguely aware of the the door sliding open with a sigh and a quietly mumbled exchange of words, but he can’t be bothered to look up — _because freak-out, life crises_ — so he doesn’t, not until he hears John chuckle and say, ”Awesome, Seth!”

 

Bill’s head flies up fast enough to give him whiplash. 

 

Seth is standing in the doorway, a secretive smirk on his lips that is way different than any smile Bill has ever seen on his face before and his eyes twinkle at John before flickering over to meet Bill’s briefly, before he turns away and disappears again —

 

 _What,_ Bill wants to say, but before he can get his mouth to work, John has tossed something on the table in front of him.

 

Bill reaches for it — it’s a button — he twists it around so that the text is facing him and reads it. 

 

There’s a whooshing like a storm in his ears and his chest feels like the bass line of a Bruce Springsteen song has found its way in there. 

 

 _Kiss me, I’m Irish_ , it pounds. 

 

_Kiss me, I’m Irish_

_Kiss me, I’m Irish_

_Kiss me, I’m Irish_

 

When he looks up again, John is smirking just like Seth had done. Bill gets it, he does. He would find it funny too, if he wasn’t having a heart attack. 

 

”You okay with that, dude?” John asks. 

 

What’s Bill supposed to say to that, _no_?

 

He nods numbly. 

 

”Awesome”, John says and goes back to his scribbling like it’s no big deal, like Bill’s whole existence didn’t just tilt on its axis and it’s all he can do to hold on. 

 

”I need a break…” he mumbles and pushes himself to his feet and then more or less flees the office and stumbles out into the hallway, and right into —

 

 _Of course, because_ fuck his life, _right —_

 

”Whoa, easy there, buddy—!” Seth exclaims. 

 

He puts his hands on Bill’s chest as if to steady him, except the warmth of his hands makes Bill feel less steady than he’s ever felt in his whole life and he quickly recoils, promptly staggering into someone else right behind him and the unmistakeable noise of pappers fluttering to the floor erupts all around them like a predictable sketch moment and he winces.

 

”What the Hell, Bill —!” Kristen says. 

 

Bill opens his eyes again, an apology ready on his tongue, but he’s immediately distracted by the twinkle in Seth’s eyes as the man is obviously trying not to burst out laughing. Bill narrows his eyes at him — Don’t you dare! This was your fault, you fucker! — and as if on cue, the other man bursts out in a ripple of giggles. 

 

”Very chivalrous”, Kristen bitches good-naturedly behind Bill. 

 

Seth brushes past Bill, hands gently grabbing his arms as he does, and quickly crouches down to help her gather up her script pages from off the floor, still giggling. Bill turns around as if in a haze and stares down at them both. The two of them seem to exchange a look of some sort, then turn to glance up at him in unison, with matching smirks on their faces.

 

”Fuck my life”, Bill thinks — out loud, it would seem, when his two friends both burst out in another peal of giggles. 

 

Seth hands Kristen the last few pages and they both stand up again. She gives Bill’s arm a gentle squeeze and struts away down the hall with that annoying smirk still in place, a smirk that says _I know something you doooon’t_ , or at least Bill interprets it that way, and barely refrains from shouting something equally immature at her back. 

 

Bill waits for Seth to walk away as well, before he collapses on the floor and lets the heart attack finish the job, except Seth isn’t going anywhere… He’s just standing there, hands in his pockets and eyes twinkling… Bill is just starting to panic, when the man takes pity on him and says, Come on, with a casual head jerk that looks way too cool on him and if Bill wasn’t silently imploding he’d be all over that with his best, mocking Seth Meyers impression… Not that he has a Seth Meyers impression… And even if he did, it probably wouldn’t be a mocking one at all… But still…

 

”Come on”, Seth says again, chuckling. ”I know you’re going to Starbucks!”

 

 _I know you_ , Bill hears. 

 

”I’ll buy you a coffee”, Seth says. 

 

 _I love you,_ Bill hears. 

 

”Come on, buddy…” Seth adds, voice suddenly soft and all sorts of wrong, except it feels very right. 

 

Bill doesn’t trust himself to form appropriate words, so he just nods and concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other until they’re standing in the queue to the Starbucks counter, vaguely aware of Seth’s hand brushing against his back every once in a while, nudging him forward or in the right direction. 

 

Finally it’s their turn to order and it shouldn’t be a shock that Seth knows his drink of choice by now, it really shouldn’t, but it is, and it makes his whole body tingle when Seth orders for the both of them without even missing a beat. 

 

Thank you, Bill means to say when Seth collects his coffee from the Barista and hands it to him with a smile. 

 

It comes out: What is this?

 

Seth’s eyes flash, but his smile doesn’t waver at all. 

 

”Coffee”, Seth says and it’s an easy out that Bill really should take. 

 

”Between us”, he says instead. 

 

The smile on Seth’s face flickers then and he licks his lips. 

 

 _Oh boy,_ Bill thinks — _because_ images, _but also he’s about to get_ real, _which means this whole thing will be_ real, _and it’s all my fault because I couldn’t keep my fucking mouth shut and f_ uck my life _six ways to Sunday_ — and he steels himself for… Whatever…

 

”I don’t know”, Seth says, and then reacting to whatever Bill’s traitorous face does he quickly continues. ”I mean! I’m not exactly sure what’s going on and what’s going to happen, if _anything,_ but I’m pretty sure you’re feeling what _I’m_ feeling and… I guess… It’s up to you. I mean, whatever _you_ want this to be, I’m… I’m open for discussion!” 

 

He trails off and chuckles nervously. Bill blinks. I’m pretty sure you’re feeling what I’m feeling… Whatever you want this to be, I’m open… Open for discussion… 

 

”Bill…?” Seth says uncertainly. ”Say something?”

 

Bill swallows thickly. His tongue feels like sandpaper against the roof of his mouth. He swallows again. Then takes a quick sip of his coffee, then immediately curses and splutters as it burns his entire mouth. 

 

”That was… Something, alright…” Seth says with another nervous chuckle. 

 

”S-Sorry…” Bill says breathlessly. ”Hot…”

 

”Yeah… You okay, buddy?”

 

”Please don’t call me that”, Bill says before he’s even thought about it. 

 

Seth blinks, startled. A million emotions seems to be flashing past his eyes, but mostly confusion and fear and regret and —

 

”I’m freaking out enough as it is”, Bill says by ways of explanation. ”Don’t fuck with my head right now.”

 

”I… I’m not, I… I wouldn’t…” 

 

”No, I know”, Bill says, silently cursing himself and his inability form coherent contributions to conversations like a normal person as Seth’s eyes grows more and more guarded. ”Just… I’ve been thinking this is all in my head for like, a long time, and then you look at me a certain way and it makes me think maybe it’s not all in my head, and then I manage to convince myself that no it is, and then you say something like you just did and I’m almost sure I’m not going crazy after all, and then you call me buddy like we’re just friends and —”

 

”Okay”, Seth interrupts him abruptly. 

 

His voice is all business again, just like it was on Monday morning when he guided Bill through his panic attack, and just like Monday morning, his hand finds its way to Bill’s back and starts rubbing circles there like it’s the most normal thing in the world, and that’s when Bill realises that he’s hyperventilating again. 

 

”Calm down, bu- Billy, calm down and breathe for me…”

 

”I’m okay”, Bill chokes out and carefully sips coffee until he’s got his breathing back under control again. ”I’m okay…”

 

”Okay… Come on, let’s go sit down…”

 

Seth guides him over to the nearest empty table and squeezes down on the sofa next to him instead of taking the seat opposite. Bill throws a furtive glance at the café around them, to see how many people are watching them — everyone, it turns out. Great — and he quickly looks down. 

 

”Don’t worry about it”, Seth murmurs quietly, still rubbing his back gently. ”Don’t think about it, just… Focus on me…”

 

”I’m really okay”, Bill says in a small voice, bringing his coffee cup up to his mouth without drinking, unconsciously hiding his face behind it. 

 

”Good…” Seth says softly. ”Just for the sake of clarity, and to prevent you from having any more freak-outs — about this, at least — what I feel for you, Bill Hader…”

 

Bill feels his face heat up immediately.

 

”…I don’t feel for any of my other friends, and that’s not going to change even if we decide to stay _just_ friends — which, I’ll happily do, if that’s what you want, by the way…”

 

Bill’s barely had time to wrap his mind around the possibility of Seth returning his feelings, he’s not got so far as to consider anything else… 

 

As if reading his mind, Seth adds: ”We don’t have to decide _anything_ now…”

 

”Okay”, he says quietly, and feels oddly relieved; he doesn’t have to make the biggest decision of his life right here, right now. ”Yeah, okay…”

 

”And we don’t have to kiss, if you don’t feel comfortable—”

 

”Wh-what?” Bill squawks. 

 

”The sketch. Stefon. The ’Kiss me I’m Irish’-button”, Seth clarifies innocently but his eyes are twinkling with unmistakable mischief.  

 

”Oh…” Bill says faintly and then determinedly shaking off his nerves, because when push comes to shove he doesn’t want Seth to think any lesser of him as a professional, that comes before _everything_ else. ”No, no, it’s… It’s funny, it’s… fine… I’ll be fine…”

 

”Okay, if you’re sure…” Seth says. 

 

It suddenly occurs to Bill for the first time that Seth’s hand is still resting between his shoulder blades, except he’s not rubbing circles anymore, he’s just resting it there, just… Just holding Bill, essentially… And their faces are really close, Bill realises as well, just as suddenly… 

 

”I think the audience will really love it”, Seth adds, voice deceptively innocent while his eyes are fucking shining and Bill swallows nervously, and licks his lips and — holy shit, Seth’s eyes go fucking dark — for a split second Bill is scared the other man is going to punch him —

 

Seth’s nose slides into place right next to Bill’s and his shallow breaths hits the top of Bill’s lip in warm little gushes that makes Bill’s whole face tingle —

 

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit_

 

There are fingers cupping his jaw, the pad of a thumb brushing his cheek… Bill stares at the unfocused outline of the other man’s eyelashes before he lets his own eyes flutter closed —

 

_Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me_

 

He’s not sure who leans in first, who kills the remaining millimetre of a distance between them and officially initiates the kiss, but suddenly it’s just _happening_ and it’s _amazing_ —

 

Bill’s stomach flutters more than ever and his heart pounds in his chest, but it’s a happy pounding, not a panicked one, although the difference is barely noticeable, just enough to give Bill the courage to press a little closer… And then he’s clutching Seth Meyer’s head like it’s a life-preserver and opening his mouth wide enough to invite the other man’s tongue in and _holy shit_ does Seth know how to work that thing —

 

When the tingling warmth in Bill’s belly starts to trickle south, he wrenches himself out of the kiss and slides back in the seat until there’s at least a couple of inches of safe space between their bodies and Seth’s fingers untangle from his hair and slide away… They stare at each other, eyes wide and chests heaving… 

 

”Well…” Seth says after a moment, his voice strangled and deep, and it does nothing to cool down the pooling warmth in Bill’s sternum, but he doesn’t even care because _Whoa_ …

 

”Yeah…” Bill says, his own voice more breath than actual noise. 

 

”Maybe not go _that_ far on the show…” Seth says with a nervous chuckle. ”Not that the audience wouldn’t eat it up, but…”

 

”Yeah”, Bill says again, his brain not fully functioning yet. 

 

”You ehm… Ready to head back…?”

 

”In a minute”, Bill murmurs and is delighted to see Seth’s cheeks darken before his gaze involuntarily flicks down to Bill’s lap… When it flicks back up to meet his own, he’s more pupil than blue and it definitely feels like a victory… 

 

”God…” Seth says through clenched teeth and it sounds positively filthy. ”If you had any idea what you do to me, Bill Hader…”

 

”Yeah?” Bill says, feeling brave and fucking high on endorphins. ”I’ve barely done anything yet, Seth Meyers…”

 

Seth’s eyes widen comically and Bill is the one smirking when he quickly looks away to compose himself for a good five minutes before they can stand up and walk out of the café again. 

 

They make their way back to the offices in silence, but just before they leave the elevator, Bill feels Seth’s fingers brush against the inside of his palm. He shoots the other man a sideways look and receives an onslaught of dimples and blue, before the other man gives him a cheeky wink and steps out of the elevator and disappears into his office before Bill gets his feet to work properly again. 

 

John gives him an exasperated look when he joins him, bitching about skiving off and then making a witty remark that Bill doesn’t really pay attention to because his mobile _pings_ and the screen flashes at him: 

 

 **From: Seth M** 1m ago

_to be continued…_

 


End file.
